Vero Goes Zero

Here in Vero Beach, plastic waste is found in the stomach of practically every turtle investigated by Coastal Connections. As a community we cannot ignore this plight. Our seas cannot absorb our plastic waste and our marine life cannot digest it.

• One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans (UNEP).
• There are now 100 million tonnes of plastic in the oceans, and 80% of it comes from land (UN Environment).
• 91% of plastics are not recycled (National Geographic).
• In the US alone, every single day, we use enough plastic straws to wrap 2.5x around the world (The Plastic Fact Institute).
• Every year, enough plastic to fill five grocery bags gets into our oceans for each 12 inches of coastline around the world (Jambeck J., University of Georgia).
• Plastic chemicals can be absorbed by the body – 93% of Americans age 6 or older test positive for BPA (US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC).